Iron Man
by dwighthowardmakesitrain
Summary: Just a little fiveshot about a son of Haphaestus who builds a high-tech suit of celestial bronze armor. Based on the movie Iron Man. Please read and review!
1. The Workshop

**Hey guys, I'm just having writer's block with Jacob Spark, and it's getting tedious to write, so I'm going to take a break from it for a while. Don't worry, it'll come back, just maybe in a month or so. For now, here's a fiveshot- don't even know if that's a word- about a child of Haphaestus who builds a celestial bronze suit, based on the movie Iron Man.**

Tanner swung his hammer angrily, molding the hot metal into the shape of a sword while he mulled over Camp Half-Blood's situation.

He had fallen into these moods for the last week or so, looking around the camp and seeing how few demigods there were. Each time, he went down to the forges, which seemed the only place he could calm down. He would make a sword or an axe and give it to a camper for no reason, just because it helped him think to make them.

He didn't know why he was so angry. It wasn't his fault that half-bloods were disappearing left and right everywhere. Ever since Percy Jackson had killed the Titan Lord Kronos almost a year ago, and all the half-bloods had gone home for the school year except the year-rounders, the demigods who were at home had just begun being kidnapped, by monsters that were still loyal to Kronos. No one knew where they were being taken, or who was directing them, but it was terribly sad that so many were gone.

Tanner wasn't sure, either, why he felt a sense of responsibility. He had been claimed by Haphaestus almost a month ago, and since then he had felt like he should be _doing_ something to help these half-bloods. He felt like his father had claimed him for a reason, although what the reason was he had no idea.

He sighed and dipped the sword into the huge bucket of cold water that was next to the table he was working at. There was a long _hissss _and steam rose from the bucket. Tanner waited several moments, then withdrew the sword. He examined it critically. Most people would have said it was incredible. He gave it a 5 or a 6. He was very fastidious of his craftsmanship.

He walked out of the forges and saw Connor Stoll walking by. "Hey, Connor!" he called. "You want a new sword?"

Connor walked over. "Whoa, that thing is wicked!" he exclaimed, examining the celestial bronze sword in awe. Tanner had designed this one after Hermes- he had put little wings sticking out of the handle and had even inscribed the word MESSENGER in Greek **(A/N: sorry people I don't know how to read Greek to translate it, but if you know a good sight please tell me) **on the leather grip. "Can I really have it?"

"Knock yourself out," Tanner replied, handing him the sheath. He walked away from an extremely excited Connor and headed into the woods.

He drew his own weapon- a heavy broadsword that only Haphaestus kids could carry- and walked through the forest looking for a monster to fight. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but a fight would help take his mind off of the gloomy thoughts running through his head.

He didn't find any monsters, but he did bump into someone he wasn't expecting- Percy. The guy was walking through the woods with his sword drawn, so he obviously had the same idea as Tanner. He turned, surprised, when Tanner called his name. Then he relaxed and grinned. "Hey, Tanner," he said. "You out looking for a fight too?"

Tanner nodded. "Just gotta get my mind off all these half-blood abductions, you know?" he said. "It gets worse every week."

Percy nodded in agreement. "I'd like to say I was thinking the same, but I'm really just trying to get away from Annabeth. Jeez, she used to be all about business, but since we started dating she never stops talking about whatever's on her mind at the moment."

Tanner had to laugh. The two had been dating since the fall of Kronos, and since then they had been the prime talk of gossip for everyone, especially the Aphrodite kids. "Aw, come on, don't pretend you don't like it," he said.

Percy blushed. "Shut up," he said, but he was smiling. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see ya," Tanner replied. Percy waved and jogged off deeper into the woods. Tanner headed the opposite way, toward Zeus's Fist. He knew Percy well. He had become good friends with him and Annabeth ever since his claiming. He was also great friends with Percy's half-brother, Tyson. He was the only one at camp who could compete with Tanner when it came to metalwork.

Tanner came to rest beside the pile of boulders that supposedly looked like a fist sticking out of the ground. He stopped to rest and rested his hand on the boulder. He flinched back when he suddenly felt something warm under his hand. He looked at the spot he had touched, and was surprised to see a little symbol engraved there: a Δ, glowing blue. The mark of Daedelus.

Suddenly the rocks began to tremble, like there was an earthquake occurring. Then two boulders suddenly moved apart, leaving a gap just big enough for Tanner to squeeze through. The rumble soon faded, and Tanner stared at the gap, startled.

He knew it would be dangerous to go in there without knowing what was inside, but his curiosity was killing him. He also knew he should probably go and get help, but the opening might be gone by then. So Tanner shrugged and did what was to him the only logical solution. He turned sideways and squeezed through the gap, finally letting out a breath when he made it into a dark tunnel.

Staring at the blackness ahead, Tanner hesitated. He had been afraid of the dark when he was younger, and some of those fears still lingered on him. Then he remembered he didn't have to be in the dark. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a cigarette lighter. Being the son of the god of fire, he always carried one with him. He lit it, and was satisfied to see a warm glow illuminate the tunnel. He took a deep breath and began walking forward.

The tunnel was made of stainless steel, and the floor was a metal grate. Tanner ran his hand along the smooth steel as he walked. He kept going for about ten minutes, and just when he was thinking he should turn back, he saw something up ahead: a huge set of double doors, inscribed with the same Greek Δ.

Uncertainly, Tanner approached the doors. He reached up and touched the middle of the symbol. It glowed, and the metal doors hissed and opened.

Tanner walked into the room and stared around in awe. No, it couldn't be. It was exactly like Annabeth had described it in her story, but she'd said it was destroyed, gone, forever. Still, as Tanner continued to examine it, he realized it was true.

_I found Daedelus's workshop!_


	2. A Suit of Armor

**Hey guys, glad you liked the first chapter. And, just to clarify, the real Iron Man movie/comics/ect. do **_**not **_**exist in the story. Enjoy the second chapter!**

It was Daedelus's workshop – or, what was left of it, anyway. The room was huge, the ceilings rising high into the air. Giant windows were on the far wall, and sunlight blazed through them, which surprised Tanner. The floors were polished stone, and there was a spiral staircase that led up to a second-story loft.

But Tanner could tell the workshop was unused. The worktables along the wall were empty. The easels contained large sheets of blank paper. There was no sign of life in the place.

Nevertheless, the workshop amazed him. He walked around, touching everything, as though he was unsure it was real. He came to the window and saw a view of the Rocky Mountains and a huge valley spread out below him. Colorado Springs, just like Annabeth had said.

He finally came to a huge computer screen on the left wall of the workshop, and there were several smaller ones on either side of it. This surprised him; no one had mentioned this. As he approached them, the large screen whirred to life and said: "LOADING PROJECT FILES…" with a percent bar below it. When the bar was full, it disappeared and was replaced by several columns of long writings. Images began to appear, as well, images of complicated machines and weapons. The smaller screens came to life too, and showed similar things.

Just as Tanner was about to touch something one of the keyboards, a sudden voice spoke, in a clear, British accent: "Welcome, sir. I am Janus, the workshop's personal assistant. How may I serve you?

Tanner jumped and looked around, expecting to see someone emerging from a doorway somewhere. But nothing moved. "Where are you?" Tanner asked.

"I am here, sir, in the computer," replied the voice. "I am a virtual assistant, created by Master Daedelus to tend to his every whim. And now, since he is deceased, I shall do the same for you. What is your name, sir?"

"Tanner. Tanner Hammerstaff," Tanner replied, finding it unnerving to be talking to a virtual someone he couldn't even see.

"Well, Master Hammerstaff, what brings you here today? Would you like to start a new project? I have kept up with Master Daedelus's supporters, and there are plenty of resources of explosives, celestial bronze, and Greek fire that are at your disposal. Or there are plenty of things he has already started, such as an automaton of the Minotaur, or a high-powered water balloon launcher, or…"

"Janus!" Tanner interrupted, overwhelmed by all the information. Janus stopped immediately, and Tanner went on. "Tell me…how is the place still here? I thought it was destroyed two years ago."

Janus chuckled, something Tanner would have never thought a robot could do. "Master Daedelus underestimated his own creation. The workshop had rebuilt itself. It was needed, actually, for the old 

one was outdated and overused. Everything is fresh and new, and I've even added these computers and machines to help with his – and your – projects."

A light came on farther back in the workshop, revealing several horizontal screens that had literal holograms projecting from them. Tanner said, "Whoa." He had to admit that was pretty cool. "But what about the Labyrinth? It was destroyed too. Has it rebuilt itself?"

"Sir, the Labyrinth was gigantic," Janus replied. "If it does rebuild itself, it would take centuries, at least. That passage reopened only recently, and it only leads here. For now, the Labyrinth is still gone."

"Oh." Tanner was sort of disappointed. He'd always wanted to see the Labyrinth, ever since Percy had told him about it. "So…how did I find this place? I just touched a mark on Zeus's Fist, and the passage opened."

"It is a mystery to me why or how you found the workshop," Janus said. "What I _do_ know is that, since you are here, you must make us of this place. It grows incredibly tedious sitting around polishing and dusting things all day."

Tanner smirked. He examined the smaller computer screens, and something caught his eye. At first it appeared to be some kind of robot, but as he looked closer he saw that it was a suit of armor, made up of celestial bronze. The images were intriguing, but the screen soon moved on to the next file.

"Wait!" Tanner cried aloud.

"Yes, sir?" Janus asked.

"What was that project, on this screen? The armor suit thing."

"Ah, yes, the Arc Reactor Bronze Armor Trailsuit. ARBAT, for short." The images came up again, on the big screen. Tanner studied them while Janus continued, "It was one of Master Daedelus's favorite projects, and he kept planning to start it for some time, but he never got around to it."

"It's amazing," murmured Tanner, watching the computer close in on different parts of the suit.

"Would you like me to run a search and find the other files, sir? I could probably run some tests and order the resources, and we could get started by tonight."

Tanner considered this. He wasn't sure he could delve into a project this big; after all, he had duties at camp, and if he stayed away too long he would raise suspicions. He decided right then he would keep the workshop a secret. If he told the camp, the Athena kids would come in and hog it all the time and he'd probably never get this chance again, even if he decided to start on ARBAT.

Then again, if he did build this suit, he could use it. He could go out into the world and stop the monsters who were abducting demigods. He could be a hero. Nothing would be able to stop him.

"Sir," Janus said, interrupting his thoughts, "It appears the full files for ARBAT were transferred to a laptop that Master Daedelus gave to a certain Annabeth Chase."

Tanner groaned inside. He knew that he'd never get access to that laptop unless he told Annabeth about the workshop, and he could imagine what she'd do if she knew it was still accessible. After all, she was a daughter of Athena. Then again, if he could sneak into her cabin and copy the files without her knowing…

He sighed. "Alright. I can get you the files by tomorrow morning at the latest. Then we can get started, okay?"

"Oh, yes, Master Hammerstaff, wonderful, sir!" Janus replied eagerly. "I'll make the orders right away. Let's see, we'll need at least 2000 ounces for the outer coating, and then for the inner weaponry we'll need…"

Tanner smiled and shook his head. This was going to be a long project, but he would enjoy doing it with Janus. He liked the robot, even if he wasn't a real person.

--

Tanner ducked behind the Athena cabin as two more blonde-haired kids emerged, talking with one another as they walked toward the dining pavilion. He had been waiting here for almost an hour, waiting on all the campers to leave the cabin and go to dinner. Based on his calculations, those were the last two. He sighed, and made his way around the side to the door. He slowly opened it and peered inside. When he had made sure there were no campers inside, he quickly walked in.

The bunks were crammed on the far wall, to make more room for the worktables and other inventor things, but he soon found Annabeth's bunk with the platinum colored laptop on it. He quickly grabbed it and sat down on the bed. The Delta mark on it occasionally flashed blue, and when Tanner opened the laptop a page immediately popped up, some files for a giant automaton of an owl. Tanner minimized the file and scrolled quickly through the others, his hands sweating and his heart hammering against his chest.

After a couple of minutes of searching, he found the file he was looking for, labeled ARBAT like on the workshop computer. He pulled up the file and pulled out the USB port that Janus had given him. He inserted the port into the small jack on the side of the laptop and selected COPY FILE when the small window popped up. A percent bar appeared, quickly filling up, but not quickly enough.

Suddenly Tanner heard voices coming from outside the cabin, and his heart sank when he recognized one of them as Annabeth's. "Okay, Tamika, I've just got to grab my jacket!" she called.

_Just my luck_, Tanner thought grimly. "Come on, come on, come on…" he urged the laptop. Only a tiny fraction of the bar was unfilled. He was so close…

He heard Annabeth's footsteps right outside the cabin. The message flashed: DOWNLOAD COMPLETE. He closed everything on the laptop, yanked out the port, shut the computer, and desperately pulled something out of his pocket and threw it under a bed right as Annabeth walked inside.

"Found it!" cried Tanner triumphantly, getting on his knees and grabbing the nickel from under the bed. He turned to find Annabeth staring at him suspiciously. "Oh, hey," he said, trying to sound indifferent. "What's up with you?"

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just looking for my lucky nickel," he replied, holding it up to show her. "I lost it a couple of days ago, and I've been looking everywhere for it. First day I found it, I got three bulls –eyes in a row in archery! I've been carrying it with me ever since."

She still looked suspicious. "Why would it be in here?"

He shrugged. "One of your siblings probably stole it." He grinned. "Want to walk down to the pavilion with me?"

She searched his face, looking for some sign of falseness. Then she finally gave up. "Sure, let me just grab my jacket." She walked over to her bunk.

Tanner felt the USB port in his pocket and sighed with relief, but luckily Annabeth didn't notice.


End file.
